Finance Minister pushes for pre-school reform

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Finance Minister Anders Borg has called for children to be allowed to start pre-school at the age of three.

Borg said he was prepared to commit major resources to pre-school education, offering 3-year olds free daycare "with a special pedagogical content" for part of the week. He also wished to introduce clearer goals into the pre-school curriculum, Svenska Dagbladet reports.

The pre-school system is currently reserved for children aged four and upwards.

The Finance Minister said he would present a cost analysis at a later date.

"Our childcare is good but the knowledge component is fairly limited. In a globalized world our level of competitiveness is predicated on our having a well-educated workforce," he said.

The proposal would enable for more education and more quality control at the pre-school level.

"I don't think we should have the sort of pre-school they have in France, where children sit at their desks and learn from the age of three or four. But children do find letters and numbers fun," said Borg.

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